NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 15 - A section of Kenyans have called on the coalition partners to unite especially on critical matters that affect the country's well-being.

Those interviewed by Capital News on Monday said that the latest differences between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga indicate cracks in the Coalition government.

“The Prime Minister and the President need consult and make unanimous decisions. They should not take us back to 2007,” said a newspaper vendor.
“They should do their work like grown-ups!”

The President and PM differed in public on Sunday over the suspension of two Cabinet Ministers after President Kibaki overturned an announcement by PM Odinga who had announced the suspension of Ministers William Ruto and Sam Ongeri.

But a Nairobi businessman said: “They need to sit down together and have discussions before they come out in public. Now it is like they are fighting. President Kibaki is saying one thing while Prime Minister Raila Odinga is saying another. This is not good,” he stated.

The Chairman of the International Commission of Jurists Kenya Chapter Albert Kamunde said cracks were evident in the Coalition.

“Obviously, if a principal to the Coalition government asks a sitting Member of Parliament to resign, that indicates that there is a serious problem somewhere and should not be taken lightly,” he explained.

He also said that a quick solution to the scandals would restore donor confidence in the country.

“When we invite donors to come in and they have assisted the country. We are responsible to account how the money has been used. This is because they also have a duty to their tax payers to say how the money donated has been spent.”

Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday announced a decision to suspend Agriculture Minister William Ruto and Education Minister Sam Ongeri saying that the forensic audit by the PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Maize scandal and internal audits on Free Primary Education, had laid credible foundations for the two to be investigated.

Mr Odinga had told reporters the move was taken after consultations with President Kibaki. However, the President later contradicted the suspension order saying that the two ministers would remain in office.

In a statement sent to newsrooms by the Presidential Press Service on Sunday evening, the President stated that no consultations took place between him and the Prime Minister on the matter.